In the early hours of a September morning in Tucson, Arizona, a tragic series of events began to unfold, culminating in the death of 39-year-old Flor Del Mar Hernandez Tapia. On September 7, 2021, Hernandez was shot and killed in a residence on East 23rd Street. Another woman, a 19-year-old, was also shot and injured at the same location.
The suspect in this violent outburst was identified as 36-year-old Brandon Michael Watts, who was Hernandez's boyfriend.
After the shooting, Watts fled the scene, sparking a manhunt that would lead to a tense standoff with law enforcement. He was tracked to a hotel near the intersection of East Irvington Road and South Hotel Drive.
At the hotel, Watts took a mother and her four children hostage, barricading himself in their room. The Tucson Police Hostage Negotiations Unit and the Pima County Regional SWAT Team were called to the scene and engaged in several hours of negotiation with Watts. Their efforts eventually secured the safe release of the mother and her children. The mother sustained some injuries, but the children were unharmed.
Once the hostages were safe, the SWAT team entered the hotel room at approximately 5:40 p.m. Inside, they found Brandon Michael Watts deceased from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The investigation concluded that Watts was responsible for the death of Flor Del Mar Hernandez Tapia before taking his own life.
